85 Percent Vote 'Yes' on Altered Council Charter

The new Student Council constitution won an overwhelming vote of approval yesterday as 85 percent of the 1746 students who went to the polls checked their ballots in favor of ratification. As a result of the referendum, nominations for House representatives to a new council will open today.

Henry M. Silveira '51, president of the council, and Richard M. Sandler '52, chairman of the revising committee, released the following statement last night:

"We are pleased with the results of the balloting, especially with the large number who turned out to vote on so controversial an issue as a constitutional revision. A great deal of serious thought has gone into the changes made and they should make a noticeable difference for the better in the council's future activities."

Nominations Open Today

Under the terms of the new charter, councils in the future will serve from February to February. Nominations for the eight House candidates open today and close next Wednesday; elections will take place the following Wednesday. Petitions signed by twenty people are necessary for nomination.

Nominations for the four sophomore and junior class representatives will begin next Wednesday, with 25 petitions as a requisite.

Other changes in the constitution include a provision which obligates the council to appoint from four to six men each year to work on long-range advisory projects. From now on freshmen will have two votes on the council, two representatives being chosen by the Union Committee to serve during the spring term and two more being elected by the class to serve in the fall.

Largely because of this change, 95 percent of the freshmen who went to the polls yesterday approved of the new constitution. The next largest margin of favor came from the voters in Adams House, 92 percent of whom asked for ratification.

Only 69 percent of Leverett balloters voted for the new charter. Dunster had the biggest turnout and was the only House which cast more than 200 votes. One-hundred and eighty-eight approved of the constitution and 37 voted against it.

In the constitutional referendum of 1947 a majority of the student body was required to favor the charter for ratification; in this election, only two-thirds of the students who voted had to approve to put the constitution into effect.